Well, my 80 finally passed emissions. Here's the story.
PRELUDE
After CM08, my CATs were leaking worse than ever. So I took it over to my favorite muffler shop, AA Performance on So. Broadway. They cut our my old CATs and welded in a new one. Yes, one. They assured me that a single modern CAT would do the job of my two Toyota CATs. No more exhaust leak, plus much more clearance with the CAT welded in horizontal rather than vertical. All is happy.
TEST VISIT ONE
In October, I motored over to the local testing facility on S. Colorado Blvd. They measured my tires. I was just under the size limit. When they actually put it on the rollers, however, my front tires sat right on the front rollers, which are designed to keep the tires from jumping off the whole assembly. They said that it would likely climb right off the assembly during the test, and the older Cruisers were especially prone to climbing. I agreed to come back with smaller tires. They were very nice about it.
NEXT STEP
Jeff Zettl swapped tires with me. His Toyo 285 tires are roughly 33" vs. my 315 Mickey Thompson tires which are more like 34".
TEST VISIT TWO
The next day, I visited the local testing facility on S. Colorado Blvd. again. They put it on the rollers, and it was fine to be tested. Unfortunately, it failed emissions.
NEXT STEP
My next step was to replace my O2 sensors. I had been getting a code that indicated that these were not functioning up to par. Two OEM sensors plus some bungs from Slee and I was ready for the next test.
TEST VISIT THREE
Failed again. The NOx went down, but the CO went up. Crap.
NEXT STEP
Got my Cruiser checked out by Toy Car Care, who have worked some emissions magic for me in the past on my 40. Their diagnosis: replace the single CAT with the OEM dual CATs. A quick call to Cruiser Dan confirmed that there was no way I was going to purchase OEM CATs. Retail price = $2,000. CDan price = $1500. But that's still a lot of coin.
NEXT STEP
Back to AA. They weld in a second CAT behind the first. Scott at AA tests the functioning of the CATs with a heat gun. The first CAT increases the exhaust temp by 50° and the second CAT increases it by another 100°, for a total of 150°. He seems confident that my problems will be solved.
TEST VISIT FOUR
First, I drove hard and fast to Castle Pines and back to get everything heated up to full temps. Then, back to the local testing facility on S. Colorado Blvd. At this point, I have a personal relationship with the guy who is driving my vehicle for the test. In fact, when a young guy whipped out his yard stick to measure Jeff's tires on my 80, the driver walked over and said, "This one's OK." The big yellow hook on the end of my winch rope has become my personal visual signature to the testing crew, apparently.
The test took forever, and I was sure I had failed. But... SUCCESS! My 80 passed with flying colors! The driver actually hugged me. Seriously, he did. I think he kind of identified with me (and he seemed to know a few things about Cruisers). After all of this, I was going to fail the gas cap test, but they faked that when I promised to immediately go buy a new one.
MORAL OF THE STORY
The 80 needs two CATs. At least, mine does.
Only another 12 years until my 80 qualifies for historical plates, right?